A butterfly of a different colour will do as much damage
by Ronniewriting
Summary: Ladybug, Chat Noir and the gang are all grown up now, most of them being 20 years old with a few members being younger or older. They're all out of school and throwing themselves into their new lives all while remaining friends and a strong team. Most good things hadn't changed. Most things...
1. Chapter 1: what had happened?

Not much had changed about Paris itself over the course of five years. It had it's shake ups, like any world capital but that was always a given, and with the local band of superhero personalities, nothing was past the point of fixing.

But not every happily ever after story is one where no fault or sadness exists. It was true, the last Hawkmoth had disappeared, rumoured to have coerced the dying celebrity Gabriel Agreste into helping him get out of the city fast before delivering the once celebrated man to his deathbed.

With the untimely death of his father, Adrien suffered greatly and was akumatized into a revenge seeking black cat. However Ladybug was unable to take him down by herself, caught between her feelings and her duty, she enlisted her small team of heroes to finish the job and bring the sorrowed boy back to his painful reality. They were all only around 18 at the time, young and still unknowing of what would happen to their world now that Hawkmoth was gone and one of their greatest friends now left to live the rest of his life as an orphan.

They soon learnt that this was not indeed the end of the reign of Hawkmoth, however, as a young woman took his place who was once trained under his own wings and the only one who ever claimed to know his secret identity. The young heroes returned back to the grind with heavy hearts but heavier determination.

There were other complications in following years as wrong decisions were made and Miraculouses were trusted to the wrong people. Some bonds were never woven strong enough to begin evident with a number of blowouts that shook Paris and it's defenders.

Ladybug, Chat Noir and the gang were all grown up now, most of them being 20 years old with a few members being younger or older. They were all out of school and throwing themselves into their new lives all while remaining friends and a strong team. Most good things hadn't changed. _Most things_.

Admittedly there was still some romantic tension between the leaders of the group but they had both been trying to settle down. They both knew that their partners could be in danger if it was ever publicly said that the two had other romantic interests, so they kept up appearances, sticking with endearing nicknames and throwing in a few flirty glances at each other for good measure. No one was the wiser.

* * *

Marinette was in one of her favourite places in the world. She was sitting on the rooftop patio above her parents Bakery, the fresh smells of baking bread and pastry sweets mixed into the cool night air, filling her nose and making her feel calmer than she had in a long, _long_ time. Her sketchbook lay in her lap in which she doodled ideas for clothing designs that she was being commissioned for. Marinette loved that she now had more time to focus her time on her own personal goals, helping her parents at home,both while being on constant call if Paris ever needed her. She reached over to her steaming cup of chai tea and took a sip, focusing on the feeling of the warmth of the cup rushing through her fingers as the hot drink warmed up her chilled body from the inside out. Marinette _loved_ nights like this. Quiet, still and peaceful.

Unknown to Marinette, a pair of warm eyes watched her as they had done many times before. They knew Marinette was racked with responsibilities, many that they weren't unfamiliar with. The constant struggle of upholding a creative career, the emotional and physical strength it took to be a defender of an entire city while keeping a set of unbiased morals. No one said it wouldn't be hard.

'She never said it wouldn't be hard', he thought as his eyes scanned over her serene face. Disturbing her would be the last thing he wanted to do, especially when he knew more than most that she rarely got moments like this to herself. Although she had been out there for more than an hour and a half so before she retired herself to staying out in the night air until dawn, he decided it would be in her best interest to be interrupted.

"Marinette"

Marinette was pulled from her empty thoughts as she heard a familiar voice behind her. She closed her sketchbook and took another sip from her cup as she looked behind her at the only person brave enough to interrupt her rare moments of deserved laziness.

"You'll turn into a Marinette-Popsicle if you stay out her for much longer" He said.

She waved her hand dismissively at him, " I have warm tea to keep me thawed don't worry about it".

"Tea can only keep you warm for so long, Mari, come inside," He walked over to her and knelt down beside her chair, "There's going to be a movie on soon that I know you won't want to miss."

Marinette sighed, swinging her legs to the side of her chair and she looked at the man in front of her. She knew that he cared about her, he had always been incredibly well rounded and understanding, something she admired about him from the first time they met. "Alright," she gave in to him, " but this means I'll get to interrupt your next session of relaxation".

He chuckled at this, taking her cup from her with what was left of her tea, "I'm always glad to be interrupted by the likes of you."

Marinette's signature blush spread across her cheeks. He stood up and offered his hand to her, as he had done many times and she took it, as she had done many times in turn. He started leading her back inside.

"What movie is playing?" She asked on the way down into her childhood room, turned adult room and studio.

"One of Adrien's, it's the first time that its airing on TV." He replied, shutting the hatch door and following her to her living room.


	2. Chapter 2: time is hard to come by

Luka sat down next to Marinette on the soft white couch, handing her a fresh cup of tea, with one for himself. Marinette took a second to tune into her parent's pleasant mumbling from the floor below her before turning on the TV to one of her closest friends' movies. To be honest, the movie's plot could be full of clichés and bad one-liners and yet Marinette would still watch it. She loved Adrien. Maybe not like she used to all those years ago. They were only children, but she finally realised that she didn't want to be with a child who only put her on a pedestal when she wore red spandex. The boy next to her pulled her from her idle thoughts."...Marinette?"

She blinked once, twice, "Oh, sorry! I got carried off in thought," she took a sip of her tea, enjoying the flavour but willing herself to listen to what he had to say instead of being led off into a daydream of tea, "What were you saying, Luka?"

He knew what she was thinking, these were the tendencies he had come to know very well after all, "I was saying, that Chloe actually co-directed this movie"

Marinette's attention was all his, "Chloe? Working with someone else? How'd she get convinced allow anyone's name to be shown above her own?"

"Who knows? Maybe she's finally, _finally_ turned a new leaf?" Luka suggested.

Of course, Luka knew why Marinette's face changed when he mentioned Chloe. Aside from the highschool years she spent being undermined again and again (which she did easily get over), it was her actions after given a Miraculous that eventually changed her greatly. Luka knew that Chloe, like Adrien, put Ladybug on a _very_ high pedestal and yet didn't care to follow her morals to be selfless, caring, and above all, just. "Chole taught me that sometimes bad people are just bad people, no amount of anything can change someone who is set in their ways. I don't blame her, though, you know I wouldn't do that. She had an arrogant mother and a spineless father, she had to do what was right for herself 'cause she was always taught that that was right."

Luka looked down to his wrist, one bracelet in particular holding his attention. He never doubted Ladybug's choices, she was wiser than her years. " I think she did a good job on the movie,even with her being thrown into such a high industry career," He looked back to the screen "and a good job at finally working with someone other than her "Adrikins " or even Ladybug back in the day" he nudged her lightly.

Marinette rolled her eyes at his gentle ribbing, "Ladybug knows what she is doing, alright" she pointed to his bracelet "if she thinks a certain _someone_ isn't cut out for the job of protecting Paris and is on her team, then she can easily take away what she gave them."

Luka sighed, "I have never let Ladybug down.. Whether she wears that cute, little spotted suit or not, she'll always be able to charm the snake charmer himself".

Marinette gave in to this charmer of a man and let her cheeks darken with blush. They laughed together and settled into the plush of the couch, resting against each other.

It was true, Luka, the holder of the Snake Miraculous knew that Marinette was the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous. He remembers the day that Ladybug offered him the Miraculous. It didn't take him long to figure out that the girl he had been crushing on hard was also his team leader and his mentor. It took him less time to finally confront Marinette, those 4 years ago, and ask her if they could try being more than very good friends (who would flirt occasionally). It was not the first time he had confessed his love openly to her. All those years ago, when he was akumatized she was both the one person he didn't want to hurt and yet the same to pull him from the butterfly's darkness. He knew she was pure, but not in a way he thought she was without fault or flaw, not in the way that so many others saw her. Luka loved her, and she could see all of this.

Their relationship remained mutual, respecting, caring and they learnt from the other everyday. When it called for it, they would untie themselves from the other, transform into their superhero identities and do their best to not show the public that there was any romance bubbling between them.

It was funny in a way, Marinette thought. Luka, this kind, strong and grounded man, ended up with the Snake Miraculous. An animal many would associate with uncontrollable and unpredictable violence, a tendency to lash out when ever backed to a corner, an animal notorious for being _poisonous_. Then again, she thought, snakes are very misunderstood, they had to be strong as it seemed like they were disadvantaged with no legs and yet the ability to move in a flash of glittering scales was their advantage. They were powerful and grounded. True to their nature. No other words could describe Luka better. Though two years older than her and one of her best friend's older brother, she could always see him as being a little emo boy with a guitar in his hand and blue in his hair. Something she was glad he hadn't lost to that day.

* * *

oo next chapter and we've found out what happened to the love square turned bigger love square! (or is it now a love triangle idk) I hope you're all enjoying the story so far and I'd love to hear any kind of feed back so far. do ya'll like my style of writting, where do you think the story should or could go?

Thanks for reading, everyone :)


	3. Chapter 3: I'm a minstrel with an amp

(This chapter includes a song by _Kittie_ called _Brackish_, I don't own it ofc but I thought that it fits the kind of music I'd see Kitty Section playing in the future so I also renamed it to be more fitting. warning for some swearing I guess x)

* * *

The sounds of blasting guitars and thrashing drums hit Marinette like a brick wall and she loved it. She was at a Kitty Section gig with Alya, Alix, Mylene and Nino, all of whom were instantly engaged with the music, thrashing themselves around and cheering wildly at their friends and partners on stage.

The band members were all in their "kitty-unicorn" gear that had been updated a number of times since Marinette first designed it. More glitter, more spikes and more intense silhouettes. They looked like the epitome of a cutesy-emo-glam-core band.

Rose grabbed the mic as soon as the intro was done and started crooning into it,

"She is not scared to die

The best things in life drive her to cry

Crucify then learn!"

As the chorus hit and Rose belted out her lines, Juleka, who was also playing the bass, started screaming her lines in a way that racked her whole body,

"Take so much away from inside you

Makes no sense

You know he can't guide you

He's your fuckin' shoulder to lean on

Be strong!"

The band's song went back and forth between low and mellow verse to quick and violent chorus, it was truly core shattering.

Marinette couldn't take her eyes off Luka. His blue hair a blur, his fingers frantic with the fast pace, his body and feet moving in time with Ivan's drumming. It was always easy to see that Luka was passionate about music more than anything. Marinette looked next to her at Mylene, a similar expression took over her face as she screamed for Ivan, her colourful dreadlocks flying everywhere.

The song ended and the audience clapped and cheered wildly as the band took a moment to flex fingers, backs and take quick sips of water. Although he was wearing a mask, Marinette could see Luka grinning at her before passing supportive looks around at his band mates.  
"Thank you, kittens!" Rose sang into the mic, "That was _My new kitty fell apart after growing a second horn _and was our last song for the night! We are Kitty Section!" The band left the stage and another took their place, hyping up the crowd again as they started their own set.

Marinette and the rest of the group went to meet the band backstage in a makeshift dressing room that was really just the venue's greenroom that all the bands were using.

Rose saw them first and all but pounced on them, still teeming with energy from their performance. She started talking a mile a minute, "Marinette, Mylene! How good did the boys do tonight?! Oh my goodness I swear it's always the guitarist and drummer who get the best groupies, those are the rules-"

Juleka cut her off from her spot on a saggy looking couch next to her brother, "They get the best girls after the bassist that is. A statement that I can confirm to be all too true." She winked at Rose who shared a giggle with the girls before bounding over to her to continue her excited chattering.

Marinette sauntered over to Luka and sat beside him. He sighed, exhausted, and leaned into her. He muttered something into her shoulder that sounded like "It's a shame Adrien couldn't make it to the show tonight."

"Yeah, I mean we all know he doesn't have the time to dedicate to playing with you guys anymore but he could make it to a show if he tried "Marinette agreed.

Luka sat back up and started removing the different pieces of his costume. " Nah, it's alright, I know he's super busy these days. I'm going to catch up with him tomorrow anyways."

"Just for a social?"

"He said he wanted to talk about possibly signing me on to write a few pieces to back his new line but honestly… I think he just wants an excuse to talk to someone other than his assistants or Chloe really."

"I can understand that," she stroked his hair away from his damp forehead. " You're great to talk to".

"Thankyou, m'lady".


	4. Ch 4: this blonde boy has a lot to learn

With the latest song by Jagged Stone blasting in his ears and the feeling of a kiss from Marinette lingering on his cheek, Luka headed out to meet up with Adrien at a little cafe that was out of the way and where not a lot of people hung around.

He sighed, still not used to his longer hair and shifted it out of his face. He tried to remember the last time he saw Adrien. It had to have been months ago at this point.

Luka sat down in a little booth by a window and looked out at the view while he waited for Adrien, he took his little notebook and laptop out to go over a few of the ideas he had in regards to writing tracks to back Adrien's line for advertisements. Granted, it wasn't what Luka was used to writing, it was a creative challenge, something he couldn't pass up. It wasn't long before a tall blonde joined him at the table with two cups of coffee (he knew Luka's favourite but Luka couldn't place the time when he could've found this out).

"Luka, it's so good to see you again, I almost forgot you weren't just an extremely talented email address." Adrien said.

Luka looked up at him as he sat down and smiled. "Hey, dude. It's great to see you too. I can't remember the last time I saw you."

"The last time I saw all of you guys was at that little underground gig where the floor was so sticky we thought we were going to track pieces of it home, remember." Adrien chuckled fondly at the memory, like it was something that almost kept him going.

Luka laughed with him,"Wow, man, how do you have such good memory? You must be superhuman or something."

"Not superhuman at all, it's just," Adrien paused, "because I'm away so often and super busy I've learnt to hold on to every memory that I have with friends. And you guys mean a lot to me."

Luka smiled, "Dude don't get too sappy on me or I might have to lean in and give you a smooch."

"Lean away, my friend. But speaking of which, how are you and Mari doing?" Adrien took a sip of his coffee, visibly relaxing as he then breathed in it's aroma.

"We're doing really well actually. I mean we can both get pretty busy sometimes 'cause we both work in the creative industry so it can be hard sometimes to find the time for each other but we try to make it work." Luka wrapped his hands around his mug, the warmth reminding him of someone.

Adrien's smile wavered slightly, a little jealous. "I get that, I don't have time for myself most of the time, let alone for someone else."

"That's why you and Kagami didn't really work out huh." Luka drank from his mug. He knew the _real_ reason why they didn't work weather Adrien would say or not.

"Yeah, she was always super focused on her training for the Olympics, which I supported but… I always felt like she wasn't as into affection as I am." He sighed. "Sounds selfish huh."

Luka waved his hand, "Not at all, you shouldn't have to settle for anyone."

Adrien perked up a bit. "Thanks, man. Now let's hear what kind of sounds you've cooked up for me."

After they parted ways, Luka couldn't help feel a bit ticked off at what Adrien had said. Not about his music, he loved what Luka had put together for him. It was what he said about Kagami. Luka knew that the main reason Adrien got together with Kagami was because he thought she was Ladybug. He never considered that a mask could alter someone's behaviour as it did in Marinette's case. Why wouldn't Ladybug be smooth, confident and strong under those red spots? Luka remembered when Marinette found out about Adrien's reasoning behind dating Kagami. She was sad at first but then she became disappointed. Disappointed in herself that she could harbor a crush for someone so shallow as to only love her for her alter-ego. Adrien found out that idolizing your partner wasn't the best of ideas the hard way.

* * *

bada-bap next chapter is here, who knows where we'll go next :D


	5. Chapter 5: A harsh reunion

Marinette stressfully chewed at the end of her pencil. Her current commissioned garment was to be finished soon and she was having trouble piecing it together. Sadly, she was used to being stressed in her line of work but she worked through it because it made her happier each day. Marinette sighed, looking out the window to see Luka walking down the street. He was heading off to meet with Adrien with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"You've been working hard, Marinette. Why don't you take a break so you can come back to it with a fresh mind?" Tiki chirped as she flew out from under Marinette's desk.

"Yeah I guess," Marinette agreed, stretching out her back. "Maybe I could take some time to work on Ladybug."

"That's a good idea, Mari." Tiki giggled.

While Master Fu had decoded a lot of the grimoire's pages, there was some information that he believed was good for Marinette to understand and interpret as Ladybug. He would send little notes from the book to her and she would only read them in secret to completely avoid any chances of this precious information getting into the wrong hands again. Marinette knew that Master Fu was getting older and older every year and while he assured her that he could easily outlive her, she sometimes thought that he could be training her up to be his successor and to possibly find a new ladybug someday.

Marinette pulled up her emails on her desktop and looked over the latest set of notes he had sent her. There was more information about combinations of miraculouses and about the only recorded time that the cat and ladybug miraculous were worn at once. The time where a person became a God, creating and destroying anything that they willed, and being gifted with a legendary wish that would wreck all timelines and the structure of humanity in the eyes of the universe. Fortunately, the ancient guardians were able to stop this before it happened.

"I wonder what Adrien's dad would have wished for if he got both of our Miraculouses." Marinette wondered out loud.

"It couldn't have been anything reasonable. Remember how we found that cryogenically frozen lady in his lair?" Tiki said.

"You think he would have wished his dead wife alive?" Marinette asked, she'd never given it much thought.

"She was more than his wife, I think. He was hoarding the Peacock Miraculous too, I'm pretty sure it belonged to her. Maybe he thought that if he could bring her back, they could seize all the Miraculouses and take over the world or something?" Tiki wondered.

Marinette and Tiki pondered over the information for a few more minutes before Marinette sent an email to Master Fu with the ideas they had discussed. Max had developed a super-private-ultra-top-secret emailing software that the group could access when not transformed for reasons such as this. Although, it wasn't unusual for a funny little meme to make its way into this unbreachable service and get a good laugh from everyone.

Later that night, while Luka was working at his studio with the band on some new material, Marinette found herself wondering if she had just head what she _thought_ she heard.

_Tap tap tap_

She raced from her place on the loveseat over to the window and yanked it open. She didn't even look to check who this figure cloaked in black really was, she just threw her arms around him and wrenched him into the room with her.

"AH! Jeez, Mari, I didn't know you missed me that much!" Chat said, trying to straighten up after being all but bowled over by this girl.

"How do you think I should react then since you've been MIA for more than six months! Ladybug has had to cope without you for all this time and the number of Akumatized victims has just been skyrocketing thanks to the current climate of things." Marinette grumbled at him. At first, she really was pleased to see him again, but as soon as she started thinking from Ladybug's perspective, she became agitated fast.

"And why is that truly any of your concern, again? I mean sure you've helped out us heroes a number of times but you really shouldn't involve yourself in such matters." Chat replied, trying to be nonchalant.

"Because I care about this city and about the people in it more than some priss in a skintight cat-suit seems to!" She quipped back.

A door closed close by and hurried footsteps approached the latch door to the room.

* * *

Helllooo hellooooo wow the two newest episodes really took me and although I kind feel like we were all missing a chunk of information that should've come before them, I loooovee the new content and I'm suuper happy to see our gang of heroes grow and grow! So yes! New chapter is here and I'd love to hear some of your thoughts :D


	6. Chapter 6: Two lives become one

"Marinette? I saw someone at the window from the street and then I heard shouting are-" Luka popped up and after he saw Chat, he jumped up, onto the floor and went to stand near Marinette "Chat what are you doing here? It's been months since anyone has last seen you."

Marinette was quick to respond (going a mile a minute) on Chat's behalf, "All he's doing here is flaunting himself around like the little kitten he is, thinking that, ya know, since he's back the Akumatization rate is going to drop to how it was when we were all 15 because he's the be all and end all (AN: haha, get it) of the Miraculous team. He destroys and destroys and destroys but it always ricocheted onto someone else and they cop the fall. Never mind that Ladybug has been doing more than ok with the other less _catty_ members of the team, the ones who wouldn't hit on her every mission and who pursue her comradery beyond a superhero status."

Before Luka could get a word in after processing all that Marinette had spieled, Chat took the opportunity to take the floor, "Everyone only _ever_ sees the status! That's all people care about. You think that Ladybug took the job because she wanted to be anonymous? I didn't realise that anonymity looked like a bright red spotted suit. A mask only hides so much. You wouldn't understand, and that's ok because for me it's a life I live both ways."

Luka finally interjected, " You don't need to lead a secret life of crime fighting to relate to that."

Chat glanced down at his flashing ring, " Status is all I've ever known, I left to get away from it all but one of my lives always follows me."

"Is that why you left?!" Marinette shouted, astonished, " To throw a Chat Noir pity party, hang up the tail for a while while the yin to your yang suffers? What are you? Some huge fashion celebrity?" Marinette tumbled back into a frantic frenzy of sharp words that became harsh sentences, "Some people thought that you were Gabriel Agreste with the way that you disappeared soon after he died. Besides the point that he was much older than any of us, I mean how much can a Miraculous change someone's appearance, no one was there to see you standing there, witnessing that poor man's death. You think you can't escape status? Think about his son, a teen model turned gossip sensation when people never stopped rattling him with questions about his inheritance to his father's business, his mother found frozen in a tube in Hawkmoth's lair?!"

Luka was puzzled, "Wait wait, his mother was in Hawkmoth's Lair?"

Marinette realised that she accidentally leaked information that only Ladybug had found out, the rest of the team had not discovered the frozen body. "Uhh-h-"

Chat's ring chimed again but he didn't notice it " How do _you_ know what went on it that house? There was no recorded footage anywhere, Multimouse wasn't there and there was no body. If Ladybug had found anything, she would've told me. I certainly know her better than you two."

"I-uh-" Marinette had really run herself into a corner this time.

_Beep Beep_

Chat's ring was out of power and there was a collective gasp as his suit fizzed away to reveal his no longer secret alter-ego.

"Adrien!?"


End file.
